Recap from Day 5 at the CFS

Today was, as it usually is, a tough day for the group. We had to say goodbye to a place that we all love very much - and especially to people we care very much about.

We began the day with the school sing, which happens every Friday morning for the lower school. This time the 3rd graders were performing, and they did an amazing job. In fact, we were even in for a surprise. In all of our trips to Costa Rica, we have never had any of our kids involved in the action. This time, though, three of our students (Gwen, Lara and Felix) secretly worked with the class yesterday and joined the students during their stirring rendition of Taio Cruz's "Dynamite." You'll see a photo below, but look for a video that will be posted later on.

The students getting ready

Our students singing along

Felix, Lara and Gwen joining in - on the big stage!

A closer look

After the sing, we had one final "circle" to start the day. We did it all week, sharing some information with each other and getting a good start to the day. Today, we talked about the best parts of our trips and had a fun time doing so.

A look at this morning's circle

Then we went to work. We broke into two groups. Trini took a group of four students and got to painting with Mauricio. I took a group of five students and worked on gardening with Eduardo and Milton. Sadly, the wood the school ordered never arrived (due to a death in the family of the delivery company). We really got a lot of work done on the final day, though, and we're glad they found useful tasks for us to do.

Trini's group painted the primer coat in the administrative office and went around parts of the outside of it as well. There weren't as many photos of them, as I was not with that group. Here are a few, though.

Trini with the painting pose of a lifetime

Lara and Ella painting outside

Gwen painting outside

Chris Adams painting the inside room

My group went to one garden and completed various tasks. We moved stumps first. Then we removed some tire-based planters and leveled the terrain. Then we put some new planters together. Then we went to another garden and put some planters there. They need protection from the animals that try to get to them.

We all signed Eduardo's shirt and he wore it this morning - pretty cool stuff

Patricia and Emma moving a stump

Eduardo guiding Chris Doyle on the digging

A scorpion dug up by Cohen...guess what, this one is pregnant (note the eggs on top)

Patricia, Ethan and Felix leveling the ground

A look at the garden after some work

A look at the group working from a point above it, with the Pacific Ocean in the background

A look at the second garden, also with a clear view of the Pacific Ocean

When we finished work, we relaxingly ate our lunches. Then we had the farewell party. It was a great time. Many of us shared our thoughts about the week, and so did staff members, and most of the host families were present. We were also treated to an awesome spread of desserts with fresh coffee.

Trini also handed the school a check for over $5600 that will go entirely toward scholarships. That money came from final exam basket fundraisers that she ran, so kudos to her! The audience seemed floored. It was a great moment.